Apparatus for carbonizing peat.



PATBNTED APR. 30, 1907.

H. J. WICKHAM. i APPARATUS POR CARBONIZING FEAT.

APPLIOATIONEILBD JULY 5, 1906.

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, No. 852,090. PATENTBD APR. 30, 1907.'

H. J. WIGKHAM. A

APPARATUS P00 GARBONIZING PRAT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1906.

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H. J. WIGKHAM.

APPARATUS FOR CARBONIZING PEAT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 5. 190e.

PATENTBD APR. 30; 1907.

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HORACE J. WYICKHAM, OF MANCHESTER, CONNECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOR CARBONIZING FEAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

l-atented April 30, 1907.

Application tiled July 5, 1906. Serial NoV 324,742.

Be it known that l, HORACE J. ll'vieknan,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Manchester, in the county of l'lartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Carbonizing Peat` of which the 'following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for carbonizing blocks of peat.

The object of the invention is to provide a very simple and cheap apparatus which easily operated. and which will 'produceI a uniform and desirable product and at the saine time will preserve all of the by-prod ucts which result from the carbonizing process.

The apparatus shown as embodying the. invention has several connected furnaces with a battery of tubes extending on an incline through the Alire pot and smoke-'flue of each furnace so as to be subjected to the heat of the lire, said tubes having openings at various places for collecting the liquid and gaseous by-products which escape 'from the blocks of peat that are fed in at the upper ends and are gradually advanced downwardly through the heated tubes until they emerge at the lower ends carbonized as desired.

Figure l of the drawings shows a plan of the apparatus, Fig. 2 shows a vertical longit'udinal section` Fig. 3 shows a vertical transverse section; and Fig. il shows on larger scale, the ends of one of the tubes.

There may be any number of 'furnaces l and they are desirably built of brick or tile, although they 'may be built of other material. v.Flach furnace preferably has an inclined flue 2 which leads to the stack 3 through which the products of combustion from the 'furnace escape. Extending on an 'incline of any suitable angle through the flue and above the fire-pot 4 of each furnace there may be one, but preferably there are 'more than one tube 5 of any suitable length. lt is desirable that the vllues be quite long so that the tubes will extend considerable distance therein. The furnaces may be made any desired size but preferably they are small and there may be any desired number of tubes extending through the flue and above the Vlire box of each furnace. It is preferred to build the furnaces as a single structure divided into compartments7 as shown, and to arrange A(ive tubes in each compartment.

i l l l i l l l i. i i, l i l l l l ip l The upper end of each tube may be flared and provided with a cover 6. (Vig. l) The lower ends of the tubes are arranged to terminate below the level of water or other liquid in a tank 7. Spring lingers 8 (Fig. #ll may be arranged to restrict the openings at thc lower ends ol the tubes.

lt is desirable to lead a drip pi pe t) from each tube below the furnace into a tank it) containing liquid, for catching and holding any substames which may llow down the tubes from the peat being (oked. lt is also desirable to arrange a similar drip pipe 1l above the furnace and lead this pipe into a receptacle l2 containing liquid for collecting residuuin. Above or below the end of the 'liuc a pipe 13 may bc .led upwardly into a condensing chamber l-l from which an es'tape 'pipe l5 may lead. This chamber may or may not contain liquid as is desired. l

After a `li'i'c is started in the furnace. the pieces of peat, which are l'n'el'erably tubular a few inches long and slightly smaller in diameter than the tubes are inserted bv hand or by machinery one at a time. in thd upper ends of the several tubes and of course as the succeeding pieces a're put in. those in advance are pushed down the incline and subjected to a gradually increasing heat until they are directly over thc lire where they are heated quite hot. 4 Then they gradually cool as they are advanced until they are discharged about cold from the tubes into the tank. The liq- 'uid in the tanks seals the ends of' the tubes and the rcsiduum or by-produet outlets so that oxygen cannot enter in su'llicient quantities to cause conmlete combustion of the peat in the tubes.

As the tubes are 'inclined the tubular pieces of peat which nearly lill the tubes are easily pushed along as a new piece is inserted at tlfe upper ends, in fact, if desired the tubes can be placed at such an angle that the pieces ol" peat will almost if not quite, slide down themselves under the influence of gravity. lll" the angle is such that the pieces tend to slide too freely the friction lingers at the lower ends ol" the tubes will vprevent the pieces 'from dropping out without some pressure from behind. Any number of tubes mav be used, but preferably there are such nuliiber that the operator may feed the peat blocks first to one, then to another, throughout the entire apparatus and by the time one is in each he returns to the first and repeats the TOO IOR

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This is repeated as long as the l in operation and the tubes are that the advance of the pieces in this way is sufficiently slow to thoroughly heat and carbonize them before they reach the lower ends of the tubes. The ues are of such length that all the heat units possible are utilized for heating the pieces of peat, and the temperature of these pieces is raised very gradually in passing down through the smoke flue, and not raised so suddenly as to cause the peat to become brittle and crack and crumble.

The pieces of peat which are carbonized in this apparatus emerge from the tube solid and tough so that they will stand transportation without being broken up and will burn readily and freely in a re.

lith this apparatus all the by-products or residuum which exudes from the peat while it is being carbonized is collected and retained and utilized for such purposes as it is capable. Perfectcontrol is had over the carbonizing by the time of feeding the pieces in f at the upper ends of the tubes.

The invention claimed is l. An apparatus for carbonizing peat havl ing a furnace, a stack, a long fiue inclining l from the combustion chamber of the furnace to the stack, a fixed tube extending on an inl operation. n apparatus is of such length eline through the furnace, flue and stack, and a liquid receptacle arranged to seal the lower nd of the tube, substantially as specified.

2. An apparatus for carbonizing peat having a furnace with an extended flue, a tube extending on an incline through the furnace and the flue, and Aresiduum outlets leading from the underside of the tube, substantially as specified.

3. An apparatus for carbonizing eat having a furnace, a stack, and an inc ined flue extending from the furnace to the stack, an inclined tube extending through the furnace and the flue, residuum collectors communicating with the lower side of the tube, and a byproduct collector communicating with the upper side of the tube, substantiallyas I. specified.

4. An. apparatus fory carbonizing peat having a furnace with an inclined flue, a number of fixed inclined tubes extending through the furnace and the flue and terminating in a liquid receptacle at the lower end, and residuum collectors connected with the tubes, substantially as specified.

HORACE J. WICKHAM. llfitnesses:

HARRY R. /VILLIAMS, ETHEL M. LOWE. 

